Courtesy of Disney+
Calling all demigods! Percy Jackson and the Olympians is officially coming back for a second season.
This is the on-screen longevity that fans of the Percy Jackson book series, first published in 2005, have been manifesting for years. After two books in the New York Times-bestselling pentalogy were adapted into films during the 2010s, famously starring Logan Lerman in the title role, fans have spent nearly a decade publicly requesting that Hollywood take another crack at adapting the novels for the screen.
Many were dissatisfied with the quality of the movies — including Percy Jackson author and YA fantasy legend Rick Riordan. Back in June 2020, Riordan revealed that he had never actually seen the two films, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, and called the two adaptations a “mess” in since-deleted tweets.
“After the movie experience, I basically wrote off Hollywood for a long, long time,” Riordan told Variety in October 2023. “I really didn’t want to have anything to do with the film industry. There were many years of me saying, ‘I don’t want to engage. I don’t want to think about other adaptations. I’m done.’ But when it started to become clear that something was going to happen with me or without me [for the Disney+ series], I had a long talk with Becky, my wife. We said, ‘Well, if something’s going to happen, it’s probably best to give it one more shot.’”
Now, fans can rest and rejoice. The Percy Jackson live-action series with Riordan at the helm, which is fully titled Percy Jackson and the Olympians, has been renewed for season 2. Below, we've gathered everything we know so far about Percy Jackson season 2, including release date, trailer, plot details, and more.
When does Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 come out?
Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1 arrived on December 20, 2023, “in celebration of Percy Jackson's birthday,” releasing episodes weekly after its two-part premiere.
Season 2 of the series was confirmed on February 7, 2024, one week after the season 1 finale. During Disney's first quarter earnings call for the fiscal year, Disney's CEO Bob Iger announced that season 1 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was streamed for over 110 million hours.
Read More: Percy Jackson Star Leah Sava Jeffries Is Basically Annabeth in Real Life
“Rich in magic, wonder, adventure and heart, Percy Jackson and the Olympians captivated the imaginations of viewers of all ages everywhere,” Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, said in a press release. “We’re thrilled to embark on an exciting new quest and a season two with Rick Riordan, our fantastic partners at 20th Television, and the exceptional ensemble of cast and creative talent that bring this story to life.”
“I can’t wait to bring the next season of Percy Jackson to Disney+!" Riordan said about the renewal. "Raise anchors. Hoist the mainsail. All hands on deck, demigods. We’re heading for the Sea of Monsters!”
Currently, there is no official release date for Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, as the season has not yet started filming — but continue to watch this space for updates on all things production-related.
What will Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 be about? Will it remain faithful to the books?
The Percy Jackson series takes Greek mythology into the 21st century, following a 12-year-old boy named Percy Jackson who discovers that he's a demigod — part-human and part-God, think Hercules — and the son of the mythological God of the sea, Poseidon. Over the course of the series, Percy and his two best friends, Grover and Annabeth, must journey beyond the mortal world to prevent a war between the Olympian gods, a war that could destroy everything.
The show's first season focused on the first book in the series, titled The Lightning Thief, in which Percy is accused of stealing the sky god Zeus's master lightning bolt. According to Disney's renewal announcement, the upcoming second season will feature the return of Percy, Grover, and Annabeth as they “embark on a new adventure based on The Sea of Monsters — the second installment of Rick Riordan’s best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series.”
Related: Percy Jackson Stars Attend Series Premiere in Style — See Photos
The official synopsis of book two reads as follows: “When Thalia’s tree is mysteriously poisoned, the magical borders of Camp Half-Blood begin to fail. Now Percy and his friends have just days to find the only magic item powerful to save the camp before it is overrun by monsters. The catch: they must sail into the Sea of Monsters to find it. Along the way, Percy must stage a daring rescue operation to save his old friend Grover, and he learns a terrible secret about his own family, which makes him question whether being the son of Poseidon is an honor or a curse.”
This time around, Rick Riordan is one of the leaders of the show's creative team, and previously promised fans once the first season began development that the new series would be very “faithful” to its source material, and that he and his wife Becky would be involved “in every aspect" of what he deems a "live-action series of the highest quality.” Riordan co-wrote the show's pilot and also serves as an executive producer on the series.
According to ScreenRant, Riordan has previously stated that he hopes the new series could have a total of five seasons with each full season covering an entire book of the five-novel series. “If you haven’t seen a particular god or demigod announced, that’s because they don’t appear in the season and won’t be cast until we start the subsequent seasons, which means any of those announcements are probably at least a year away,” Riordan teased. Well, you know what they say: Rome Olympus wasn't built in a day.
Who plays Percy in Percy Jackson and the Olympians?
Walker Scobell, who is currently 15 years old but was 13 at the time of season 1's filming, plays Percy Jackson for a new generation. Though the previous screen adaptations of the book series aged Percy and his friends up to 16, the Disney+ series has stayed true to the books, depicting Percy as a 12-year-old boy.
Walker had previously been called the breakout star of Netflix's sci-fi adventure film The Adam Project, starring Ryan Reynolds. In a sweet announcement post in April 2022, Rick Riordan shared how “thrilled” he was about the casting decision.
“It was obvious to me and the rest of the team that Walker had the perfect mix of comedic timing, sweetness, rebelliousness, snark and heroism to embody our hero Percy Jackson,” wrote Riordan on his website. “I got to deliver the news to Walker personally via Zoom back on Jan. 28 that he had been chosen for the part, and it was a magical moment that made me feel for the first time: ‘Okay, this is real. This is worth all the waiting and the hard work. This project is going to be amazing.’"
Read More: Percy Jackson Star Walker Scobell Says His Percy is "Book Percy"
Riordan also noted that Walker is a “super-fan” of the novels — a match made in Elysium heaven. At Disney's D23 Expo in September 2022, Walker shared a few additional details on his take on the character, saying, "Percy is funny, he's witty. He's very sarcastic. He's very hot-headed. I'm just incredibly grateful to portray one of Rick's characters. We all are. I promise you, I will always try my hardest every single day to bring Percy Jackson to life for all of us."
Who else is in the cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians?
Aryan Simhadri plays Grover and Leah Sava Jeffries plays Annabeth, Percy's two best friends. The pair of young actors were announced to be joining Scobell to complete the main trio of the Percy Jackson saga back in the spring of 2022. Grover is a caring “satyr, half boy and half goat, disguised as a 12-year-old boy,” and Annabeth is the brilliant “true daughter of the Greek goddess Athena" who helps train Percy to survive the mythological realm.
You might recognize Aryan from the 2022 Disney+ reboot of Cheaper by the Dozen and the Disney Channel original movie Spin, and Leah from the Fox sitcom Rel. In his casting announcement post on his website, Riordan shared sweet words of praise for both Aryan and Leah, also noting that Leah in particular is “exactly the way [he] imagined Annabeth in the books: smart, strong and courageous.” (Leah's casting has continued to spark intense racist online backlash, which led to Rick further defending Leah and his casting decision.) Riordan also promised fans that the new trio would make them “proud."
Read More: Percy Jackson’s Aryan Simhadri Slept & Showered With His Satyr Ears On
More familiar faces round out the cast of PJO in recurring guest roles. Comedy actress Megan Mullally plays Alecto, aka Mrs. Dodds, “Percy’s strict, irascible math teacher who may act monstrous at times, because she is — she’s one of the three Furies, known as Alecto, who loyally serves Hades, the god of the underworld”; Lin-Manuel Miranda guest stars as Hermes; Jason Mantzoukas, known for his work on Big Mouth and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, plays Dionysus, aka Mr. D, “the irritable and sarcastic” god who runs Camp Half Blood; and Virginia Kull portrays Sally Jackson, “Percy’s loving, protective and selfless mother [who] raised her son knowing that one day she’ll have to give him up to the dangerous world of the Olympian gods."
Glynn Turman, known for his roles in A Different World and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, plays Chiron, a.k.a. Mr. Brunner, who is “the famed centaur and trainer of heroes who provides Percy with moral guidance when needed, disguised as Percy’s Latin teacher”; Timm Sharp was also cast as Gabe Ugliano, “Sally’s selfish, brash, and combative husband as well as Percy’s stepfather.”
Will Logan Lerman be returning for Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2?
When the news about the series initially broke, Percy Jackson OG Logan Lerman shared an adorable reaction to Twitter. “Excited to see this!” He wrote in May 2020. “Hope it gets the adaptation the books deserve. Congrats @rickriordan.”
In an interview with Access Hollywood a month later, Lerman said that he was “open” to returning to the Percy Jackson universe. “I’m curious to see what’s going to happen with it and I’m just glad that Rick, the writer — it seems like he’s in control or has a say," said Lerman. "I’m not sure how much say he had in the [movies] we did way back when a couple years ago. I hope that they get good scripts together… I’d be curious to see how it comes along but if I’m right for it, of course I’d consider it.”
Since the adaptation is staying as true to its source material as possible, Lerman likely won't be reprising his role as Percy in any capacity. This has led fans to dream cast him as Percy's father, Poseidon — however, Lerman isn't entirely sure that's the right role for him, either.
"I get people asking me all the time if I'm gonna play Poseidon, and I'm like, 'Am I old enough to play Poseidon?,'" he said to Esquire back in January 2023. “I don't think I'm old enough for that one! I wouldn't cast me in that role if I was part of the creative team."
Lerman went on to say that “no one's hit [him] up” about joining the reboot, and that he doesn't think he's “right for that anyways." “There's not a secret that's waiting to be announced or something like that," he said to the magazine. "I do get asked a lot about it, and I hate to disappoint and be like, 'No, I don't know anything, and I'm not involved,' but that's the truth… what I do know is that Rick Riordan is doing it, and that's pretty cool for the fans of the Percy Jackson series. I'm excited for those fans to get that version of the story told and see what they do with this.”
Ahead of the season 1 premiere in December 2023, Lerman surprised the new trio with a message during a live recording of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “The show looks amazing,” Lerman said. “I can’t wait to see you all crush it in your roles. You’re making a lot of people happy bringing these characters to life. I can’t imagine a better fit for Percy Jackson than Walker. You were so brilliant in The Adam Project. I hope you like eating blue food the next few years. I think you have a hit show on your hands.”
Walker Scobell's reaction was the best, revealing that it “definitely does [feel good] a little bit” to have the original Percy Jackson's blessing. “I have DM’d him before,” Scobell said about Lerman. “I watched one of his movies, Perks of Being a Wallflower. I really liked it. I thought it was so good I DM’d him.”
Is there a trailer for Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2?
Since the show just received the green light for season 2, there is no trailer available to share yet.
This post will continue to be updated as more news about Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 breaks.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
Want more great Culture stories from Teen Vogue? Check these out:
A New Generation of Pretty Little Liars Takes on the Horrors of Being a Teenage Girl
Underneath Chappell Roan’s Hannah Montana Wig? A Pop Star for the Ages
Donald Glover’s Swarm Is Another Piece of Fandom Media That Dehumanizes Black Women
On Velma, Mindy Kaling, and Whether Brown Girls Can Ever Like Ourselves on TV
Gaten Matarazzo Talks Spoilers, Dustin Henderson, and Growing Up on Stranger Things
How K-pop Stars Are Leading Mental Health Conversations for AAPI People and Beyond
Meet the Collective of Philly TikTokers Making You Shake Your Hips
The Midnight Club Star Ruth Codd Isn’t Defined By Her Disability
